Day 26: Exposed ridgeline

Hiked 19.3 miles, camping at Big Flats.

Today we woke early with the intent to watch the sunrise from an observation tower that was only 1.5 miles from the shelter.  However, we misjudged when sunrise would actually be, it is so much earlier than when we started, close to 630 now.  We missed it by probably 20 minutes and were exhausted after trying to race to the top of a very steep climb to see it.  It was a little comforting to note though that the tower would not have afforded us a good view as we couldn't get on top since it was locked and there were a lot of trees around.

Just after sunrise on the observation tower

Early morning view

Early morning view

Looking back uphill after a descent

View from Whiterock cliff

We were there a half hour ago

View of the flatl ands behind the mountains

We knew the trail would be fun when a little ways down we saw a blue blazed trail that said "Bad weather detour".  Yep, a couple mile exposed ridge walk was the flavor for this morning.  Big Firescald Bald was the best party of that with 360 degree views.  The ridge line really reminded me of New Hampshire too, big boulder scrambles and only small brush as if we were getting close to treeline.

Headed up to Firescald Bald

View from Firescald Bald

View from Firescald Bald

Looking down from Firescald Bald

Everyone appreciating the view

Walking along the ridge

Climbing down from the ridge

We got our 12 before 12 in and with some miles in the bank the rest of the day we could relax through knowing we didn't have to work too hard.  A lot of today we were following ancient road beds which was neat.  It was nice having the trail be nice and wide, especially after the section this morning that was somewhat overgrown.  I'm not sure where these roads used to go though as both ends just turned back into a trail it seemed like.

We went over our first stiles today.  These are sets of steps that allow one to easily get over fencelines.  We will see a lot of then in Pennsylvania I've heard because we walk through fields a lot there.  They are nice to have for us hikers but I'm not sure how they are effective at keeping the fenced in animals contained...

Our first stile just across the road

Later in the day I was somewhat ahead and came across a bubbling brook and relaxed for a bit with a book until Srocket and Why Not caught up.  After hiking a little further upstream we all stopped and relaxed for a while.  The place we are camping tonight has no water source so we had to fill up our reserves too.  While we were there Stumbles and Big Job finally caught up to us.  I was expecting to have them do that shortly after lunch and was looking forward to hiking a bit with them.  Unfortunately it was not to be.  They hike fast and we only had a few miles to go and many hours to do it in and I didn't feel like blasting through it at that point of the day.

Trail magic, free transport to town?

Waterfall

 The last peak we went over was called Lick Rock, so naturally I had to follow instructions at the top.  After a short descent we reached the area we planned to camp at.  It is really nice to get into camp really early sometimes.  It is nice to be able to cook and relax and be curled up in your tent before sundown.

The mountain was named Lick Rock people, I had no choice

This is the view from my tent